San Juan College To Connect Business Analytics Across Departments

San Juan College, a community college in New Mexico, is implementing business analytics software to share data across departments.

The community college had been looking for a way to analyze disparate data across departments and use the resulting information to report progress and provide better service. The college reviewed five business analytics vendors and ended up selecting Tableau Software based on recommendations from other educational institutions and because it fit the college's criteria, including ease of use, functionality, and ability to access data from disparate sources.

"It's important that departments across campus can get insights into their own data since they're the ones best equipped to make decisions," said Laurie Gruel, senior director of strategic development at San Juan College, in a prepared statement.

According to information on Tableau's site, the tool can help higher education institutions analyze student data, such as enrollment statistics, achievement, and demographics; target areas of the country for alumni activities and development; and prepare Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) reports and other reports.

San Juan College plans to use Tableau to report progress to its board of directors and other internal and external communities, and eventually share some analytics visualizations publicly on its website.

"San Juan College, like most colleges, has many different departments and data sources it needs to bring together in order to make informed decisions," said Elissa Fink, chief marketing officer at Tableau Software, in a prepared statement. "Tableau provides a way to blend this data and present it in a visual and compelling way so key decision makers can reach better outcomes."

About the Author

Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at leilameyer@gmail.com.